MADRID, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was to discuss with the opposition leader on Tuesday what steps to take following the cease-fire declared by the ETA.

    Zapatero, also a Socialist Party leader, was due to meet with the opposition Popular Party's Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday to negotiate over the government's line following the armed Basque group's announcement of a permanent cease-fire on March 22. The truce took effect at midnight on Thursday.

    Zapatero says he has a "road map" peace plan for the region but needs the support of the conservatives. The conservatives say the cease-fire may be a plot for ETA to regroup, as it did during a 14-month unilateral truce in 1998.

    The talks are the first between Zapatero and Rajoy since September 2004.

    The two parties have conflicted fiercely over ETA since Zapatero's election victory in 2004. Tensions over the issue reached new heights when Zapatero won parliamentary backing to offer ETA negotiations in May 2005.

    ETA is blamed for killing more than 800 people since it started its armed campaign for Basque independence in 1968. Enditem